Sending money from Ireland to Côte d'Ivoire
Euro converts into West African CFA francs and lands on an MTN Mobile Money CI, Orange Money CI or Moov Africa wallet, or in an account at Ecobank CI or Société Générale CI. Money sent to a wallet typically lands within minutes. Because the CFA franc is pegged to the euro, this is one of the steadiest rates you will send on.
EUR
XOF
-
Trusted by 3M+ people around the world
GOOGLE PLAY •22K REVIEWS
APP STORE • 12K REVIEWS
The peg is the story on this route
Most pages about sending money abroad are really pages about exchange rate risk. This one is not, because the West African CFA franc is pegged to the euro. Sending from a euro country to a CFA franc country means the relationship between the two currencies does not drift the way it does between, say, euro and naira or euro and real. The figure you quote to someone in Abidjan this month is close to the figure you will quote next month.
That is a genuine advantage of sending from Ireland rather than from the United States or Britain, where the same payment has to cross the dollar or the pound first and picks up the movement of those currencies against the euro on the way.
The community here is small. Ivorians in Ireland are mostly in Dublin, arriving through work, study or the protection process, and the francophone West African population is a fraction of the size of the Nigerian or Ghanaian one. Payments home go to a mobile money wallet more often than to a bank, which is how Côte d'Ivoire works generally. Grey pays MTN Mobile Money CI, Orange Money CI and Moov Africa, as well as accounts at Ecobank CI and Société Générale CI.
Three steps to a wallet in Abidjan
Open the account
Opening it costs nothing and takes roughly five minutes with one valid identity document. Côte d'Ivoire is then one of more than 80 countries the same account reaches.
Fund in euro
Move euro across by SEPA transfer from AIB, Bank of Ireland, Permanent TSB, An Post Money or a credit union, and hold it until you send.
Send to the wallet
Enter the registered mobile number for MTN Mobile Money CI, Orange Money CI or Moov Africa, or an Ivorian bank account number. Check the figure and confirm.
What a payment to Côte d'Ivoire costs
Grey still shows the rate and the fee as separate numbers before you confirm, with the CFA franc total underneath, because that total is what lands on the wallet. Nothing is deducted at the Ivorian end and nothing is recalculated afterwards.
It is worth noticing what you are not paying for here. A payment routed through dollars or sterling first carries the movement of those currencies as well as the fee, even though neither of them is the sending currency or the receiving one.
Why the CFA franc rate barely moves against the euro
The West African CFA franc is pegged to the euro, so the euro to CFA rate does not float the way most pairs do. For a sender in Ireland that removes the guesswork about whether to send today or wait a week.
The rate is still fixed at the moment you confirm, and the CFA franc figure is on screen before you send, so nothing is left open. The peg simply means there is much less between one confirmation and the next.
For a monthly household payment, that is the difference between agreeing a figure once and renegotiating it every time the currency moves.
Why an Irish bank transfer stops short here
An Irish bank will wire euro to an Ivorian bank, charge an international rate for it, and have no way at all of reaching a mobile money wallet. That last point is the important one, because mobile money is the dominant way people hold and spend money in Côte d'Ivoire, and a bank account is the exception rather than the rule in many households. Grey sends to the wallet number itself, on MTN Mobile Money CI, Orange Money CI or Moov Africa, with the CFA franc figure shown before you confirm.
What the recipient in Côte d'Ivoire sees
CFA francs on their mobile money wallet or in their bank account, arriving as a standard credit. No Grey account, no agent to find and no code to quote.
Mobile money
MTN Mobile Money CI, Orange Money CI and Moov Africa, sent to the recipient's registered mobile number. These typically arrive within minutes.
Bank accounts
Ecobank CI and Société Générale CI are reachable by account number for recipients who would rather receive into a bank.
GreyTag
If the person in Abidjan also uses Grey, GreyTag moves money between you free and instantly, in any currency.
Funding for a small, regular payment
Payments on this route are usually modest and repeated rather than large and rare, so the funding question is about rhythm.
Monthly
One SEPA transfer a month covers a household payment to a wallet in Abidjan, Bouaké or Yamoussoukro.
When something comes up
Medical costs and school charges rarely give notice. A funded balance lets the money go the evening you hear about it.
From another balance
Dollars or pounds already held convert to CFA francs without a separate transfer out of your Irish bank.
Save the mobile number once and the next payment to the same wallet takes a moment.
What money from Ireland goes to Côte d'Ivoire for
Household support
A monthly amount to family in Abidjan, Bouaké or Yamoussoukro, sent to an Orange Money or MTN wallet out of Irish wages.
Medical and emergency costs
Treatment and medication that has to be paid for on the day, where mobile money reaching the phone within minutes is the point.
School charges
Fees, books and exam costs for children and younger siblings, paid to a fixed CFA franc figure.
Small business and trade
Payments to suppliers, growers and cooperatives in Côte d'Ivoire from buyers and agents working out of Ireland.
The list is short because the community is, and every item on it lands on somebody's phone rather than at a counter.
Why sending from Ireland suits this route
Sending home is easier to plan when the number does not change. A household that agreed an amount in CFA francs in the spring should not have to revisit it in the autumn because a currency moved in between.
The peg to the euro does most of that work, and Grey does the rest: the rate fixed at confirmation, the CFA franc figure on screen before you send, and delivery to an MTN Mobile Money CI, Orange Money CI or Moov Africa wallet, or to Ecobank CI or Société Générale CI.
FAQs
Does the euro to CFA franc rate move much?
Very little. The West African CFA franc is pegged to the euro, so a sender in Ireland is quoting from a stable base each month.
Can I send from Ireland straight to an Orange Money wallet?
Yes. Enter the registered mobile number for Orange Money CI, MTN Mobile Money CI or Moov Africa and it typically arrives within minutes.
Which Ivorian banks can Grey pay into?
Ecobank CI and Société Générale CI, by account number, for recipients who would rather receive into a bank than a wallet.
What currency does my recipient in Abidjan receive?
West African CFA francs, credited to their mobile money wallet or bank account as a standard local credit.
Is it better to send from Ireland than from the UK or the US?
For this route, yes. The CFA franc is pegged to the euro, so a euro payment avoids the drift a pound or dollar payment picks up.
Does my family in Côte d'Ivoire need a Grey account?
No. They need a mobile money number or a bank account, and Grey charges them nothing to receive the CFA francs.
Can I send money to a wallet in the evening from Ireland?
Yes, from a funded balance. Mobile money transfers typically arrive within minutes rather than waiting for a banking day.
How do I fund a payment to Côte d'Ivoire from an Irish bank?
Send euro across from AIB, Bank of Ireland, Permanent TSB, An Post Money or a credit union and it waits on the balance.
Why does mobile money matter more than bank details here?
Because mobile money is how most households in Côte d'Ivoire hold and spend money, and a bank transfer cannot reach a wallet.
Will the CFA franc amount change after I confirm?
No. Confirmation settles the rate, and the CFA figure on screen is what reaches the wallet or the account.
Is Côte d'Ivoire a small route from Ireland?
The Ivorian community here is small, but the payout to mobile money and banks and the figure shown before sending are the same as anywhere.
Get digital banking
at your fingertips
